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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

One of the next projects is to replace the deck boards, and build new railings/privacy walls. Two years ago we took the yard from this:

To this:

﻿

But, we didn't replace the deck boards at the time. We had already gone over budget on the project and this seemed like one of those things we could do ourselves that just didn't need to done all at once. But, here we are, two years later and they still look like this:

So, what's the problem? Well, our deck is about 16' long, and it would be best to put down 16' boards. ﻿And, we would only need about 15-20 boards. No big deal. The problem is getting the boards to the house. When we purchased our car, we (and by "we" I mean "me") failed to thoroughly check out it's hauling capability. We came to find out a week or so later that our trunk looked like this:

See that small door way in there? That little door allows you to put skis in your trunk. But, the seats don't fold down. So. . . no way 16' boards are fitting at all. Unless, I plan to have 12' hanging out of the trunk and I think DC police would have a small problem with that.

Next option? Delivery. Home Depot charges a flat fee of $75 for delivery. Which, just seemed a little annoying considering that would be about 25% of the material cost. Frager's (which, if you haven't been there, you should go) would charge $35.

Second option: Zipcar. Now, I've have my share of annoyances with Zipcar. But, you really can't beat the convenience. So, for about $12, I can rent an SUV or pick-up for an hour. Now, I understand that a 16' board is not going to fit in the 6' bed of a pick-up. But, I think we can figure out a way to get them in an SUV with a red flag hanging on the back.*

You can see how this simple project has been put off for so long. But, the goal is to finish it in the next few weeks - or, at least before it starts to snow.

*The last time I did this didn't work out so well. I was transporting a ladder back to the house (the ladder was bright red and was about 3 feet out of the trunk, but no flag on it) and a woman rear-ended me THREE times in a row at two stop signs. She kept hitting the ladder which would rock my car back and forth. I actually had to get out of the car and give her a clue . . .I'll admit it wasn't my finest moment. But, really? Who doesn't notice when they hit something with their car? I let it go the first time . . . but by the third time it was a teensy bit irritating.

Alright, so Benny is not my real name. It's my nickname. In fact...I am a lady (by gender, not necessarily by attitude). But, it is fun, and makes me feel "tougher" when talking about painting and tiling and smashing things.
I didn't give it to myself. It is a childhood nickname which came from Benjamin Bunny (the cousin of Peter Rabbit).
In fact, Benny is a common nickname for Bernadette. Ever see Circle of Friends with Minnie Driver? Yup, her name was Benny in that.
Anyway. . .
You can e-mail me at:
dcrowhouse@gmail.com